Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

China is willing to push forward the Iranian nuclear issue to develop in a direction conducive to regional peace and stability, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi over a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Abdollahian briefed Wang on the latest progress of the restart of the negotiations on the implementation of a Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear issue and expressed Iran's willingness to return to negotiations as early as possible. 

Talks taking place in Vienna were paused last week after Russia demanded sweeping guarantees that Russian trade with Iran would not be affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow over its special operation in Ukraine — a demand Western powers say is unacceptable and the US has insisted it will not agree to. 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh on March 14 said, "we are currently having a breather from the nuclear talks" and "we are not at a point of announcing an agreement now since there are some important open issues that need to be decided upon by Washington."

On the same day, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the US would be open to "diplomatic alternatives" if a deadlock sparked by sanctions against Russia makes a formal return to the 2015 nuclear deal impossible. 

On March 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected US claim that Russia is blocking Iran nuclear deal revival following talks with his Iranian counterpart Abdollahian in Moscow. Lavrov said Russia had received written assurances from the US that sanctions against Russia over Ukraine would not hinder cooperation within the framework of the nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, according to Reuters. 

Abdollahian said over the phone conversation that Iran is willing to resolve the final pending matters through negotiations with all parties involved and try to reach a good agreement. He added that Iran highly appreciated China's constructive role in advancing the negotiations and hopes China will continue the support. 

Wang said that China has always supported the early conclusion of the agreement on resuming the implementation of the JCPOA and remains open and supportive of all efforts to achieve this goal. 

China understands Iran's legitimate concerns and supports Iran in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, objecting unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international laws, Wang said. 

Facing the rapidly evolving international and regional situations, China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Iran, pushing forward the Iranian nuclear issue to develop in a direction conducive to regional peace and stability, Wang added. 

Global Times